Sanders arrived to Washington, DC on Thursday morning and is scheduled to meet with Obama shortly after 11 am. While the White House has not officially endorsed Clinton’s presidential bid just yet, the expectation is that Obama will “nudge” the socialist senator into delivering his considerable following to the Democratic establishment.

“At this point, the president believes that Senator Sanders has more than earned the right to make his own decision about the course of his campaign,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters Wednesday.

However, White House officials told ABC News they believe a Clinton endorsement is “imminent.”

Obama will “delicately nudge the losing Democratic presidential hopeful toward a full embrace of Hillary Clinton’s candidacy and a unified party effort to defeat Donald J. Trump in the fall,” wrote The New York Times, citing “administration aides.”

The Times described the Thursday meeting as “part of a choreographed series of moves Mr. Obama set in motion this week that are designed to quickly bridge the divide” between Sanders and Clinton.

“You’ve built this enormous grass-roots movement; what do you want to do with that?” the Times quoted Jen Psaki, Obama’s communications director, describing the likely course of the conversation with Sanders. “There’s a recognition of the energy and enthusiasm that he built, and that that is going to be needed to win in November.”

Obama will try to persuade Sanders into turning over the “enormous list” of Democratic voters that could be useful to Clinton and the party’s Senate and House candidates in November, telling the independent senator from Vermont that he could receive a lot of the credit for a Democratic victory if he directs his “newfound political energy” to Clinton.

After meeting with Obama, Sanders is expected to travel to Capitol Hill and meet with the Democratic leadership, including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada).

Though Washington insiders regard Obama as the perfect man for the job of persuading Sanders to fall in line, some of the campaign aides for both Sanders and Clinton are not so convinced.

“The president is not Sen. Sanders’ boss. We’ve got to get this straight here,” Nina Turner, a former Ohio state senator and a Sanders surrogate, told Politico. “There’s respect that’s for the commander in chief … but Sen. Sanders is duly elected, and he’ll make his own decisions.”

Ed Rendell, former Pennsylvania governor and Clinton supporter, is likewise skeptical that Obama can accomplish much.